Top Future-Proof IT Skills & Roles for 2026 and Beyond

Revealed: four ‘long-life’ lucrative tech expertise areas, the skillsets within, plus the key roles they’ll be advertised as from 2026 - onwards.

With the UK’s IT hiring landscape continually evolving as innovation occurs and socio-economic factors play their part, the technology skills that open doors today might not be the ones that advance your IT career tomorrow.

Consequently, knowing which four technology skills will likely deliver the greatest long-term value will help you invest your time, energy and resources strategically in 2026.

Here, exclusively for Free-Work, Matt Collingwood, founder of VIQU IT Recruitment, a market leader in IT recruitment, discusses:

FOUR ‘hot’ IT skill areas set to be in-demand in 2026, and beyond it too.
The corresponding SKILLSETS that employers may pay a premium for.
KEY ROLES in 2026 within these ‘hot’ IT skill areas, bound to lead to higher salaries /rates, as well as greater career stability and/or mobility.
HOW MUCH per day such key roles will command in 2026 (N.B Rates quoted below are based on actual placements via VIQU IT. They may be even higher for principal/high seniority technologists).

1. AI and Machine Learning Engineering

Day Rate in 2026: Up to £800 (starting £450).

There’s been a rapid and widespread adoption of AI technologies across many industries in the last couple of years, and this uptake is not expected to slow down in 2026.

With many private sector organisations still in the experimentation or piloting phase when it comes to implementing AI technologies within their commercial operations, the demand for AI and Machine Learning Engineering skills is only going to increase.

Furthermore, due to its newness, there is a significant shortfall in qualified experienced ‘AI’ talent, meaning both permanent employees and freelance contractors can command hefty salaries and rates.

As for a key role with unparalleled longevity, given that some businesses in 2026 will be starting to scale AI technologies to encompass their entire systems, AI Infrastructure Engineers are sitting extremely pretty.

2. Cyber Security Analysis and Engineering

Day Rate in 2026: Wide variations (£300-£900), see below.

With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated and the widespread adoption of cloud technologies transpiring, organisational exposure to cyber crimes has multiplied.

Although cyber security is not a new area per se, with strict regulatory requirements, coupled with high financial and reputational costs for cyber breaches, cyber security will remain a business-critical function in all organisations in 2026.

As a result, skillsets across the cybersecurity sphere will be consistently sought-after — for this year and then some.

Tech job board users and other IT role applicants eyeing security as an opportunity should be aware of a trend in 2026, however.

There are indicators of a shift away from organisations hiring cybersecurity generalists in favour of cybersecurity specialists who are willing to adapt and continually learn.

Specific skillsets in high demand in 2026, and invariably beyond, will include Penetration Testers (£500-£700 p/d), SOC Analysts (£300-£500 p/d) and Security Architects (£600-£900 p/d).

3. Cloud Computing and Architecture

Day Rate in 2026: Variations (400-£700), see below.

With more than 90% of large businesses using some form of cloud service in 2025, the shift within organisations from on-premise systems to cloud-native architecture is now maturing.

This ‘bedding in’ of cloud services is ensuring both high demand and high take-home pay for cloud professionals. In particular, Cloud Solution Architects (£600-£900 p/d), Cloud Security Engineers (£400-700 p/d), Site Reliability Engineers (£400-£650 p/d), and Data and DevOps Engineers (£450-£700 p/d) will command this space’s best salaries and day rates in 2026. And that’s partly due to such individuals typically being highly specialised, and sitting for more than a minute in the mid-senior positions, which many took on in 2025.

Finally, a word about Cloud candidate availability in the year to come.

Although the Cloud /DevOps practice is generally a more mature market than the other ‘hot’ IT skill areas pinpointed in this article, thereby making it less challenging for some workplaces to secure talent, specialisation will command a premium in 2026.

That’s because our recruiters are seeing the pendulum of demand now swing away from generalists and towards specialists, partly due to the increasing complexities of cloud environments, plus the requirement to integrate AI securely.

4. Data Science and Analysis

Day Rate in 2026: Wide variations (£300-£900), see below.

Data-driven decision making is constantly evolving and becoming more intertwined with business operations, strategy and performance.

Therefore, companies in 2026 will continue to be increasingly aware of the ability to transform raw data into strategic, actionable insights.

Data has become fundamental to business optimisation and long-term planning, and with many socio-economic factors impacting many sectors, it’s no surprise that organisations are demanding Data Science and Analysis skillsets to inform important decisions.

Job board users or agency contractors in this space should keep in mind that some end-hirers are making a move away from generic data science roles — those which traditionally covered all areas of data.

Instead, highly specific data-centric positions are in vogue in 2026.

As a result, professionals in Data Engineering (£400-£600 p/d), Data Architecture (£600-£900 p/d), Data Governance/AI Ethics, Business Intelligence Analysis (£300-£500 p/d) and AI Product Management (£500-£800 p/d) will all be snapped up this year, and for the foreseeable.

Futureproof +: What emerging IT/tech skillsets to be aware of in 2026/27?

With the IT and AI industry evolving rapidly, technologists using job boards and/or agencies to try to stay ahead of the game must become forensically familiar with their own skills area’s next-generation technologies.

Doing that will ensure you have the technical skills and professional capabilities which organisations might very well require not just in these now underway 12 months of 2026, but potentially in the next three to five years as well.

Here are just six seminal specifications on IT/Tech recruitment briefs to be aware of this year and next:

N.B. These six are the six key technologies and/or abilities that we’re seeing now, and expect to see more of in the future, after 2026 too.

Blockchain and Web3
Internet of Things (IoT)
Quantum Computing
Post-Quantum Cryptography
Spatial Computing
Technical Leadership

And finally, here are six key sectors that IT workers should consider paying to work in!

IT professionals who can go even further by combining the four in-demand skillsets listed here with dynamic, evolving market sector experience will achieve the optimum salaries/day rates in 2026.

Increased demand and better career opportunities will be par for the course for these hybrid techies - those technologists who have both cutting-edge skills and a ‘darling’ sector on their CV.

In particular, if you can fuse any of the four ‘hot’ IT skill areas outlined above with experience working in Data Centres, Energy Production, Sustainability, Aerospace, Defence, and Finance, your IT career prospects from 2026 onwards will be truly set to optimal.